The Anomaly
A Time-Phase Slip
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Pub Date Aug 15 2026 | Archive Date Oct 1 2026
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Description
Four lives. Three centuries. Four deaths. One consciousness that refuses to disappear.
"Reminded of Alfred Bester and Fritz Leiber, with heroic yet pragmatic characters worthy of Heinlein. This may be his best yet." — Alastair Mayer, author of The T-Space Series
A Waystation temporal agent should have died.
Instead, a catastrophic failure sends his consciousness rippling through time, embedding itself within four people across three centuries—each carrying memories that are not their own.
Jax Harlan perishes in the vacuum of the asteroid belt, haunted by impossible visions.
Beneath Europa's frozen ocean, Mira Thorne witnesses a stranger's death and realizes it is her own.
On Proxima b, Kai Okafor walks willingly into deadly electromagnetic fire to save a million colonists.
And aboard a starship bound for the stars, Asha Dey remembers three lives that came before—and must decide whether the cycle ends with her.
As the powerful organization known as Waystation fractures, a profound question emerges: was the anomaly a system failure... or four human beings with the right to exist?
Hard science fiction becoming something harder: a meditation on what it costs to persist.
Advance Praise
Imagine classic science fiction with current-day, cutting-edge science. Sounds good, right? Well, you don’t have to imagine, this is what Robert G. Williscroft’s latest, The Anomaly, provides. An epic spanning over 300 years and a dozen light years, (with interludes outside of time and space altogether), this is an intriguing mix of action/adventure and metaphysics. I found myself reminded of Alfred Bester and Fritz Leiber, with heroic yet pragmatic characters worthy of Heinlein. It’s a little different from Williscroft’s usual fare but every bit as good, if not better. This may be his best yet. —Alastair Mayer, Author of The T-Space Series
When does a space yarn stretching centuries into the future become something extraordinary? When time itself becomes a variable, not a constraint. Jealously guarded. Bidirectional. A stream with eddies that cannot be resisted. When engineering precision reaches limits that only human sacrifice can exceed. Such is the newest novel from Robert G. Williscroft. And arguably, his greatest. I have followed Williscroft since his novel Operation Ivy Bells, a book that pushed the limits of legality in writing. The Anomaly pushes other limits, exposing the reader to concepts beyond science, as we currently know it. Williscroft’s engineering and scientific acumen is well earned, but his venture into the other is spell binding. The Anomaly will captivate you as you ponder what it is, and why it has the power to change reality itself. The Anomaly is a Masterclass in Space Suspense. — John R. Clarke, Ph.D., Author of The Jason Parker Trilogy
A fantastic premise told with solid science that gives us faster-than-light access to a fascinating future. A belter badlands. A submarine under miles of ice and seawater...on Europa. FTL exploration. Robert Williscroft takes us to exotic locations and challenges us to imagine the possibilities with four stories and a common thread that is the stuff heroes are made of. —Trenton Bennett, Voice Actor Narrator of all Robert G. Williscroft’s books
Robert G. Williscroft science fiction demonstrates his mastery of technology and engineering. In The Anomaly, he brings something even more important, his realization that human decisions, existential consciousness, and intuition are more important than data. This is a novel of courage, the courage to believe that there is purpose in the very threads of existence. —Kenneth Weene, Ph.D. Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9781968367596 |
| PRICE | $4.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 412 |
Available on NetGalley
Average rating from 3 members
Featured Reviews
Anthony P, Reviewer
I really enjoyed Williscroft's novel. Anomaly follows several individuals that occur every 100 years. The individuals are mysteriously linked. The book is well worth the read.
The Anomaly is solid sci-fi story. It follows four different people as they navigate life with the knowledge and skills of an extra consciousness. There is solid world building, science, and sci-fi technology we can hope for some day. All four characters are living at the frontiers of their respective time periods. The author did an excellent job of mixing the sci-fi, mystery, and human aspects of the story together. Through the characters' individual stories and the larger impact of the consciousness existing, the author is able to explore human morality and relationships. And Jax's story has a definite Firefly feel to it.
Jemima P, Reviewer
As the first few chapters unfolded, I was gripped, enthralled, and thinking this was the best sci-fi I’d read. It included world-building of my favourite sort, deep planetary science, enterprising heroes, and a mystery propagating forwards through their lives.
After the second hero, I had to pause. This was depressing, getting to know these great people, and then…having to start again with the next. But… another great adventure, another twist. And magnificent science and engineering. One taste of a superconducting vent drive (I’m making that one up) and you’re away with the tech stuff, operated by people with talents.
And suddenly, the author seems to think we don’t understand people. Maybe his psychology isn’t as secure as his engineering, but for a while I got really miffed at the repetition of basic behavioural concepts and feelings. Hammering his point home. With a sledge hammer. Talking down to your readers when you’ve pulled them through planetary oceanography only hours before is a real downer.
So, what was vying for book of the year becomes just another four star read. Plus a chapter of another book, plus a glossary, which might have been interesting without the chapter padding.
But the first half, and the overall concept, were so good…
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